2018 Winners

The NMAF presented Gold and Silver awards in 23 categories at the Digital Publishing Awards Soiree, held on May 29th, 2018 at One King West Hotel in Toronto. The event was hosted by Maclean’s editor Adrian Lee.

In most categories, the Digital
Publishing Awards Gold winners received a $500 cheque alongside their award.

GENERAL
EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL PUBLISHING

The 2018 award for General Excellence in
Digital Publishing was presented in three divisions: small, medium, and large
publications.

The Deepwon the Gold Medal for General
Excellence in Digital Publishing: Small Publications.

“They’re doing remarkable work with a very small staff, using their
resources intelligently so that each story has the greatest impact. Their
mandate—to tell in depth stories based on the East Coast—feels not only
necessary, especially with the erosion of local news, but like one that they
are well-positioned to carry out, considering their balance of a considered design with
engaging stories,” remarked the digital publishing awards jury. “As traditional
publishers grapple with diminished capacity, it will take efforts like those of
The Deep, to ensure deeper, longer
stories are still told and more importantly, heard!”

Honourable Mention in General Excellence
in Digital Publishing: Small Publications was awarded to Fjord Review and National
Observer.

Hakai Magazinereceived the Gold medal for
General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Medium Publications.

“Hakai is
the realization of what a great digital magazine can be. With beautiful
imagery, clean design, crisp writing, and well-integrated digital features, Hakai sets the standard for a
high-quality digital publication,” said the Digital Publishing Awards jury.
“Everything about the site is in support of its content and the reader, as it
should be.”

Hakai Magazine received six other awards in
various categories, including a second Gold in Best Online Video – Feature.

Honourable
Mention General Excellence
in Digital Publishing: Medium Publications was given to Passport and Today’s Parent.

The
winner of the General Excellence in
Digital Publishing: Large Publication award went to The Globe and Mail. The jury had this to say: “The Globe and
Mailteam produced an extremely innovative body of
work. Their editorial mandate was not only fulfilled, it was surpassed and
truly represented the highest of journalistic standards.”

Elizabeth Melito of CBC News was recognized as this year’s recipient of the Emerging
Excellence Award. The award
honours an individual whose early work in Canadian digital publishing shows the
highest degree of craft and promise.

The
Emerging Excellence Award jury was “exceptionally impressed by Elizabeth’s clear
demonstration of leadership and initiative in a large and respected
organization like CBC News. She
joined CBC News, her first media job,
in 2015. In a short time she has earned a high level of respect and
responsibility and has developed two custom long-form development tools that
have been rolled out nationally at CBC.”

DIGITAL PUBLISHING LEADERSHIP AWARD

Brodie Fenlon,
the Senior Director
of Daily News and Bureaus for the CBC,
was the recipient of the 2018 Digital Publishing Leadership Award. The award honours an
individual whose career contributions to Canadian digital publishing deserve
recognition and celebration.

WINNERS
HIGHLIGHTS

Gold winning publications HuffPost
Québec, ICI Radio-Canada Première, The Deep and The Sprawl all captured
their first Digital Publishing Awards this year.

The leading publication in this year’s Digital Publishing
Awards is The Globe and Mail. The “Unfounded” investigation—led by Dennis Choquett, Robyn Doolittle, Laura
Blenkinsop, Jeremy Agius, and Michael Pereira—won Gold in both Best Digital Editorial
Package and Best News Coverage.

Hakai
Magazine was also a top-winning publication, receiving two Gold
medals, two Silver medals, and three Honourable Mentions. Jude Isabella, the
magazine’s editor-in-chief, contributed to three of those winning pieces.

“Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017,” published in Air Canada enRoute, won two silver medals,
in the categories of Best Online Video: Short and Best Digital Editorial
Package.

Global News
(globalnews.ca) was a two-time winner: “Canada’s #ToxicSecret” was the
Gold winner in the Best Social Storytelling category, while “Fire Watch: B.C.
Wildfire Coverage” was the Silver winner in the Best News Coverage
category.

The NMAF offers its sincere
thanks to the highly skilled professionals who generously contributed their
time and expertise as judges of the Digital Publishing Awards competition.

ABOUT THE DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS

The Digital Publishing
Awards promote and reward the achievements of those who create digital
publishing content in Canada—the writers and editors, designers and developers,
video and podcast producers, photographers and illustrators, and many others.
The DPA program recognizes, celebrates, and promotes to a national audience the
innovative publishing teams that produce digital content in Canadian media.

A total of 79 Canadian
digital publications participated in the DPAs, submitting the best of their
digital content, design and innovation from the past year for consideration in
23 awards categories. 78 individuals volunteered their time, their expertise,
and their passion for digital publishing in serving as judges for this year’s
awards. They nominated 106 entries from 37 different digital publications for
this year’s awards.